


Switcheroo

by pawstronaut



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, I hate that I have to tag this "Vinsmoke" wtf, M/M, Pining, cora is alive, lawsanweek2021, marine AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29663052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pawstronaut/pseuds/pawstronaut
Summary: A fill for day 6 of lawsanweek2021 over at tumblr.Inspired by the glorious art of Nirin, which you can look at here: https://unicat-w.tumblr.com/post/644287635037257728/day-six-marine-au-on-your-knees-in-this-caseLaw is a Marine, Cora is alive, Sanji is very much still a pirate - Enjoy!
Relationships: Trafalgar D. Water Law/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fill for day 6 of lawsanweek2021 over at tumblr.  
> Inspired by the glorious art of Nirin, which you can look at here: https://unicat-w.tumblr.com/post/644287635037257728/day-six-marine-au-on-your-knees-in-this-case  
> Law is a Marine, Cora is alive, Sanji is very much still a pirate - Enjoy!

He remembered the first time a certain pirate had captured his interest; he was bored out of his wits, rising through the ranks at the Marines slower than was usual, due to his interest in the medical field. Other than perhaps expected, Law had pursued studying medicine upon enlisting. A choice the higher ups begrudgingly had to respect, for they couldn’t wait for to get their hands on the talented young man’s abilities. As the son of the man who had brought down Doflamingo, blessed with the Ope Ope no Mi, smart and reliable, he rarely faced any problems. The medical staff of each and every outpost he worked under were delighted by his devil fruit powers and instructor Garp always had been satisfied to see that he didn’t neglect his physical training either.  
The only bad things ever muttered about him were that he often had a downright creepy aura around him and…well, he was known to be kind of a dick.

To the demise of his superiors, Law was able to tip toe the line of playful disobedience and outright disrespectfulness like no other. As beloved as his powers were, they often caused quite the ruckus as well, leading to pranks left and right. The fact that they were never able to pin any of it on him disgruntled his colleagues and higher ups even more.  
The guy was a powerhouse and an annoying little shit.

It was one of those disobedient times that he had snuck away from his overseeing Captain to eavesdrop on a group of Lieutenants, standing close and whispering words about a group of spies having trouble in Water 7. Words about a devil’s child, Cipher Pol and a pirate infiltrating an operation of theirs.  
One pirate infiltrating a Government’s spy operations? A single one, not even a group?  
Huh, would you look at that.

He didn’t catch the name of either the pirate in question nor the crew they were a part of back then.  
Not until shortly after.  
The events were still vivid in his mind. A Buster Call. Everybody was in an uproar upon hearing the news and he had to admit, even he felt a rush of adrenaline. He wasn’t on site at the time, his rank didn’t justify him being there, but he saw some big names make their way to Enies Lobby and upon once again, lingering around a little longer than necessary, finally caught the name of the alleged “shitheads who were causing trouble in Water 7 before” – the Strawhat pirates.  
His curiosity piqued it didn’t take long for him to get a hold of all the wanted posters of the crew. He was both surprised and a little let down. They were just a handful of rascals from East Blue.  
With a Buster Call on hand though, this information nestled into the back of his mind, rising forth here and there when he heard higher ups complaining about them or when he was helping out in the medical section, patching and stitching up the poor bastards that came a little too close to the Strawhats.

It wasn’t until he got promoted to Commander that he would see for himself just how much trouble those Strawhats really were. He had been assigned to accompany Captain Smoker to get some more hands-on action now that his medical degree was completed. They wanted him to assist catching pirates as soon as possible, his Devil Fruit making him one of the perfect candidates for it. The higher ups especially wanted him to tail Smoker because he had already had quite a few run-ins with the Strawhats and it seemed like they wanted Law in particular to study their behavior and assist the mission of capturing them in the future.  
Oh and what a spectacle that was.

They really lived up to their names. Not only was it nice to be out of stuffy mess halls and overcrowded medical rooms, he found quite some joy in the sheer chaos they brought wherever they set foot on. Not to mention his delight over Smoker being toyed with, the Strawhats just laughed any danger straight in the face and seeing their powers up close made it very obvious why they had gained such fame.  
One man in particular stood out to him though. A man he didn’t even see most of the time but that’s what made him oh so interesting to begin with. He had deducted that the pirates must have a tactician in their ranks somewhere, there was no way they had gotten out of such numerous dangerous situations by sheer luck alone. Upon observing them operating time and time again and seeing a particular person evading capture like a shadow, he had an idea who it was.

Sanji they called him. Taken from the way Nico Robin referred to him he was the cook of the ship and usually stayed behind along with her as the more mind-over-matter kind of people. That guy was a walking out-of-jail-free card. He found himself more and more mesmerized by the thought the cook put into situations. Unbeknownst to his colleagues he weaved himself in and out of fights, wrung information out of every word of their opponent and saved their asses more than a few times by careful countermeasures strewn along right from the very beginning of an enemy encounter.

The Marines had wanted to train him to create perfect strategies against the Strawhats but the more he watched them, the more he watched him, the more his willingness to actually capture them dissolved.  
He had learned early on from Cora that the Marines weren’t the end all be all. He didn’t believe in their Absolute Justice and Law found that he agreed with the statement. He saw his fair share of assholes, of abusers and evil doers but he couldn’t deny that part of the pirates he was supposed to hate and hunt down just weren’t bad people at all. They all had their own motivations and dreams and from the time he had spent observing pirate crews he had a good idea of what they were capable of and what kind of “prize” they were after.  
The Strawhats though? What a wildcard they were. You just never knew what they were going to do next and he liked tagging along Smoker just for the chance to see them fuck shit up again. He was quite fond of the blond tactician after some months as well. At first he was only allowed to watch but soon he was able to move some pieces on the board himself and to his delight the cook had matched every one of his moves.

* * *

  
It didn’t take long for Law to look forward to the lookouts calling in to report the Strawhat’s stay at a nearby island and he had to catch himself more than once from appearing all too eager at seeing them sail off once again, uncaptured. They’d meet again and while the Commander and the cook hadn’t even exchanged a single word yet, they knew of each other. During one of their escapes he caught the cook standing on deck, knowing damn well that it was him who had thwarted Law’s plan to incapacitate their ship.

Their eyes met and the idiot had the audacity to salute and wink at him.  
In his moment of bafflement and surprise he couldn’t help himself, he started laughing.  
Those bastards really were a category of their own, weren’t they?  
  


It became a habit of his after that. Whenever he had disrupted one of the Commander’s tactical moves he’d be within view and salute, wave or laugh just to spite him. Law didn’t complain though. Yes, a small part of him didn’t like the other man coming out on top but he really enjoyed having somebody on his intellectual level. He always huffed an annoyed breath but sooner rather than later he found himself smiling afterwards, waving the pirates off in an “Oh for fuck’s sake get out of here”-kind of fashion.  
He felt a childlike glee every time he was able to outsmart the blonde. Not because their capture was a step closer or because he had the upper hand now. No, he loved it because it was his time to gloat.

Through trial and error he had found what riled the pirate up. Sanji was a smoker, used to light one up when things didn’t go as planned and oh he hated it when Law snuck that cigarette from underneath his fingertips. He had switched them with pebbles or blades of grass at first since he didn’t have anything else on hand. Other times he had prepared notes, “Smoking’s bad for your health, you know”, “You may want to lessen up on the smokes” and “Doctor’s orders: Stop that.”

After that came the candy. It was ridiculous; he knew it, a grown man, a Commander of the Marines carrying candy around with him. Not to gift to little children who were upset or to better their image. To give to another man before he ran off. To annoy him. For the cook to remember him while he ate it later.  
The cook hated it at first, it made his skin just a tad more flush with anger and his piercing gaze was like its own sweet treat to Law. That and the little smiles and eye rolls that the cook couldn’t hide when he found a candy wrapper instead of a cigarette yet again.

The cook didn’t miss a beat though, providing his own little messages, cleverly wrapped around the cigarettes that no doubt would be snatched away from him. “You getting on my nerves is bad for my health too, you know?”, “Guess I’ll have to be a bad boy and disobey”, “What shitty doctor gets you hooked on sugar to stop smoking?” It was ridiculous how those few written words made his heart beat just a little quicker than normal. That was just the adrenaline of encountering a dangerous group of vigilantes though, right? Right. He switched to candy without a ton of added sugar after that, watermelon and strawberry were among his favorites. One time a message of the pirate read some peculiar word though. “Got anything spicy?”  
That freak seemed to have a thing for a little spice with his sweets but who was Law to deny him that. He’d never mention it to anybody but back then he had searched quite some time for the right treats for the cook, having a look around the shops whenever his duty took him from place to place. The satisfaction he felt when the blonde’s face lit up upon discovering the chili-mango lollipop in his hand was sending comforting shivers down his back.

It was purely a game of course, but sometimes he couldn’t help but read into all the little “slip ups” that had the blonde be within view and some blatant traps to draw him out. Which maybe, only maybe, were just there to finally have them meet, to see eye to eye up close. Maybe even talk for once.  
He had gotten enamored before he knew what was happening.

* * *

He had also gotten found out.  
Smoker, as much as he liked to pick on him, wasn’t stupid. A few months of back and forth between Law and the trouble makers seemed to have made it clear that he wasn’t taking the hunt as seriously as he should have and Smoker was not happy about that.  
“It’s not our top priority and it’s not the end of the world if they escape but we have to look out for them before they get even more out of hand.”  
It didn’t help that alongside him, a second commander, Miss Tashigi, joined their group and pestered him about “this not being a game” even more than the old man had.

Law knew how much he could annoy people before things turned for the worse and he would get into some serious trouble. He walked that line often with Smoker and Tashigi. With Cora having retired he didn’t have anyone else of the Marines he had to look out for though. He just had to be a little bit more careful from then on, maybe help with the capture of another crew to calm his superiors. There was no way he would face dire consequences for letting the Strawhats get away, he was a poster child and his abilities granted him privileges he was glad to have. He wouldn’t stop playing his games and no way in hell would he stop his teasing back and forth with the crew’s cook.  
Or so he thought.

* * *

The day had started like any other, with the added joy of hearing rumors of a certain group of pirates being spotted at Sabaody Archipelago. The anticipation was thrumming through his body, tickling in his fingertips and making him antsy. He’d invite himself along to check out the situation alongside Smoker, as he always did, even when he wasn’t asked to assist. He had to learn after all, didn’t he?

It wasn’t until he found Smoker inside the outpost, no Tashigi in sight, looking tense that he knew something was amiss. It would be a bit of a travel there but surely that wasn’t a problem right? They were a well attuned team and Law was among the go-to people you sent after the troublemakers.  
“We’re not going, kid. This is going to be more than we can handle. Go find Tashigi, she has some paperwork for you to complete until tomorrow.”  
He simply nodded and moved towards the study closest to Tashigi’s temporary quarters. Had these old farts realized Law wasn’t going to bring them in? Had they had enough of them returning time and time again with empty hands? Had he crossed the line? He kept his eyes and ears open for anything unusual the following days, catching whispers about high ranking Marines sailing to the Archipelago. “Since there’s so many pirates over there they aren’t going to take any chances this time. Seems like they are sending some big guns!”, he heard a particularly excited nurse proclaim on his way from a surgery. His days were filled with mundane tasks, medical check ups and paperwork. God, so much paperwork, he could’ve sworn they were doing it on purpose to keep their minds away from whatever was happen on the entertainment island.  
Big guns, hm?  
He took another stack of files over to Tashigi, declining her offer to have a go at them together.  
He picked up on Kizaru being off ground the other day.  
They were sending Admirals then.  
Tucking the papers close to his body he decided for a little detour on the way to his own room.  
They were sending Admirals to get the Strawhats? Hoping that enough time had passed for word to get around he melted into the shadows yet again, listening for any tidbit of additional information regarding the matter.  
“There’s so many of them, have you heard? I wish I could have a go at them, I’d show them what Marines can do!”  
“Oh please, don’t flatter yourself. We’re not even allowed to go. They’d squash you like fly anyway.”  
There were a bunch of pirates gathering at the Archipelago, that wasn’t uncommon though. The amusement park drew a lot of people and Fishman Island close by drew in heaps of pirates as well. There had to be more about this story.  
Another group of agitated whispers revealed something about big scary robots. Robots? Did the mean the Pacifista?  
Not only were they sending Admirals then, they would try out the new Pacifista.

Eustass Kid. Jewelry Bonny. X Drake. Basil Hawkins. A bunch of captains who’s crews had steadily upped their bounties and made a name for themselves. So it wasn’t just a “bunch of pirates”, it was a heap of prolific pirates all residing there at the same time. That’s what the big guns were for.  
An especially fear stricken Lieutenant babbled on about Bartholomew Kuma being spotted traveling towards the island as well, though he might have mistaken him for one of the Pacifista.  
  


Alright, so Admirals, the Pacifista and possibly Kuma. Lower ranks had to stay away, probably because things were going to get ugly and there would be too many casualties otherwise.

Good god.  
A cold shower painstakingly crawled its way down Law’s spine. This was going to be big and it was going to be messy. They would try to eviscerate as many of the “worst generation” pirates in one fellow swoop as possible, weren’t they?

They wouldn’t stand a chance. They were going to be defeated.  
They would capture the Strawhats and there was nothing he could do. There’s nothing he should be doing…right? No, going in there alone just to get them out of harm’s way would be a suicide mission. Why was he even thinking about this? They hardly knew each other. He wasn’t going to sabotage his career over a little crush either. Just how infatuated had he become that he was even considering this? They were pirates after all, they knew the consequences and so did he.  
It was fun watching them but that always had an invisible expiry date on it, didn’t it?

There were a bunch of other pirates on the island as well, maybe they’d be able to slip out? With so many high bounties in one place there surely is going to be chaos and the Marine’s forces will have to split up, lessening the prowess of Admirals and Pacifista.  
Yeah, they were going to get out of there somehow.  
  


Then the crew went missing. They were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

They were just…gone.

The news hit him like a wall of bricks. The situation had gotten ugly, just as he had expected. One of the Pacifista was damaged beyond repair, Bartholomew showed up and somewhere along the way the whole crew of the Strawhat pirates went missing.  
They weren’t captured though, he didn’t think they were. Just…gone.  
Vanished into thin air. Rumors about them actually residing in a secret location or even already being in Impel Down made the rounds. Rumors about them escaping spread too. Just what had happened back there? The higher ups were all tight lipped about it. He couldn’t even ask Cora to schmooze some information out of his former colleagues. For one the man was happily cruising across the globe from one resort to the next, “enjoying life”. Writing way too long letters about his culinary adventures and mishaps. Then there was the obvious factor of open concern for a pirate crew that he might try to conceal in a white lie but would no doubt raise Cora’s curiosity and he really didn’t want to explain his maybe-infatuation/probably unfounded emotional upwelling to his father. No thanks. Last but not least was the fact that he really shouldn’t care, nor ask for more information. It wasn’t his mess to fix, he should be thankful for that. Focusing on more dire matters at hand was more important. His superiors not boasting about capturing them should be a good sign that they made it out of there somehow, just like the other crews had done.  
He’d just have to sit tight and hope for the best.

Paperwork and medical care filled his days, he dove into work, getting praised left and right. The candy never made its way out of his pockets though. He found new friends to give it to. He pushed forward and tried not to think too much about that wide smile, the little notes.  
He just had to wait.

* * *

He waited two years.

Time had flown by and dragged on at the same time. He got promoted, he was a Captain now. With no interest in maintaining an outpost of his own his way dragged him out to sea. A crew by his side, fine men and women, adjusting to their snarky Captain well. Smoker and Tashigi moved on as well, the person by his side now was Commander Bepo with the duty of showing Lieutenant Commanders Shachi and Penguin the ropes. All loons if you asked Law, a bunch of rascals but he couldn’t help but grow close to them, to appreciate their wild enthusiasm and unwavering loyalty.

Cora had been over the moon. His little boy all grown up, with his own ship to command! His smile shone like the sun at the ceremony. The promotion came with a well appreciated clothing change. Law was never much a fan of the standard uniform but regulations were strict. No finesse, no style. Now able to choose his own clothing he donned the garb for one of the Justice coats. He quite liked the drama of it. A white waistcoat and trousers paired with a black shirt were usually seen on him. His ties went from regular black and fitting yellow to some atrocious choices his crew had gifted him. One might think he wouldn’t be caught dead in them but Law was up for the fun and he loved the bright eyes of his crew when they saw him wear them. Life had been kind of uneventful. Sure, he captured his fair share of pirates, made a name for himself. The revelation that Monkey D. Luffy was still alive was a pleasant surprise. He caught wind of what happened down at Impel Down, how couldn’t he, the fight at Marineford was a mess. If he hadn’t been in hospital recovering from a run in with Eustass Kid he probably would have been right in the middle of it. He wasn’t though, the Strawhat captain was and of course the strongest of them had made it out alive. The rest though? He didn’t know and if he were honest the childish defiance in him stopped him from looking for any evidence as well. He left that for the higher ups. Sometimes he felt a little twinge in his heart when he thought back to his days playing cat and mouse with the cook but he was gone and what could you do?

He liked focusing on the present more. Being a travelling doctor was fun, nobody bothered him, well it wasn’t as easy to bother him at least. Cora was still writing up a storm whenever the smallest things happened in his life. He was glad he had a happy life though, the old man deserved it.  
During one of his stays at a nearby outpost to collect his latest letter from him things all happened very fast.  
“They really met up there, I can’t believe it. How stupid can you be?”  
A flurry of voices erupted from a group of cadets.  
“Oh my god they were right?!”  
“Ha! Kamira you owe me 20 Belli!”  
“What are they going to do?”  
“How were they able to hide for so long?”  
Annoyed by the sudden burst of noise Law wandered over to them.  
“What is going on here?”  
Their faces all fell in fear of a higher up standing next to them.  
“C-Captain Trafalgar! What an honor to have you with us again, sir!”  
“I asked you a question.”  
One of the female cadets turned towards him.  
“It’s the Strawhats, sir! They were planning to meet up, wrote it in the newspaper. A call came in confirming their whereabouts on Sabaody Archipelago.”

His breath stopped for a second. They were back?  
“The lookout was sure it’s them?”  
“They think so, sir! They have identified at least five of the crew members since yesterday and they seem to be recruiting new members. Since we’re close by they asked us to stay alert in case they need us to help evacuate civilians.”

Since yesterday? So they’re not making for a quick retreat? They’re recruiting new people which means they might stay there for a bit longer. Checks out with the cadet mentioning they might have to help, so whoever is overseeing this knows that Marines from this base need some time to get there as well. So they were lying and waiting for the Strawhat’s next move.  
It’s decided then.

“Your Captain is aware?”  
“Of course, sir. She is talking with our contact as we speak!”  
“Good, I’ll be heading off then.”  
“Shall we prepare some rooms for you and the crew here at the outpost?”  
“No thanks, I already booked rooms at a nice hotel. A treat for them after a long time out at sea.”  
“Oh that sounds lovely, enjoy your stay then, sir!”  
“We will.”  
‘We will’, his ass, he had no intention of staying any longer.  
He had to see this.

Quick feet rushed him back to his ship, seeking out his second in command.  
“Bepo, is the ship restocked already?”  
“We are still missing toiletries. I’m sorry, boss.”  
He sighed, guess he wouldn’t be able to sail off as fast as he would’ve liked. A quick look around told him that quite a few of the crew were absent as well.  
“How long ago did the guys take off?”  
“They should still be nearby. Need me to fetch them? Are we in a hurry?”  
“I’d like them to be here sooner rather than later, please.”  
“Got it, Captain!”  
He watched the polar bear hurry off, leaving him to wait for their last supplies to arrive.  
The Strawhats were back. Apparently wrote in the newspaper to meet up? Weird. Why would they boast that information about for everyone to read?  
Were they just trying to make a spectacle out of it? No, from what he remembered they weren’t show-offs like that.  
Which means… They didn’t have any other way to communicate. The newspaper surely would be picked up wherever you were. They got separated? Even weirder. Seems like it wasn’t a choice either, or else they would’ve agreed on a more subtle way to communicate. The cadets were right, disclosing their reunion in the newspaper was a stupid move, but actually showing up was even dumber. Was it really the actual Strawhats at the Archipelago?  
God, he had known about them being back for mere minutes and already his head was full of thoughts of the trouble makers again. Why wasn’t he contacted though? Having tailed them for months before he would’ve been a good candidate to discern whether it was the real deal or mere copy cats. They had their fair share of them over the years, not that Law cared, of course.  
Did Smoker know? Or Tashigi?  
Where they sending Admirals again? Pacifista?  
If they managed to get away once surely the Marines would raise their efforts to catch them this time. He probably wasn’t even allowed there, a mere Captain among Admirals but he couldn’t stay away.  
The same rush from two years ago was flowing through his body. He could feel the excitement prickle in his veins like ice. This was a dumb idea, an incredibly dumb idea.  
He couldn’t wait to set sail.

* * *

The surprised questions and moans of discontent rang loudly in Law’s ears and he couldn’t even be mad at his crew. They had been out on sea for a while and finally reached an island to dock at just for their Captain to demand all of them to get back onto the ship as soon as they set foot on dry land.  
“Look, I’m sorry your leave got cut so short but there a dire needs to attend at the Sabaody Archipelago.” He could feel the people’s sinking morale wash over him until he had spoken those last words.  
“The Archipelago? With the amusement park?”  
“Cap’n we’re going to Sabaody Park?!”  
“It’s right around the corner, isn’t it? This is going to be great!”  
“You’re taking us on a fun trip? Aw, you shouldn’t have.”  
“Oh I can’t wait! I always wanted to see the Sabaody Dome.”  
A commotion started to raise, their voices melting into each other until he couldn’t even decipher who was saying what anymore. Bepo immediately jumped into action.  
“Guys, calm down, please! Get the last crates to their designated places and start hoisting the anchor. Set the sails and make it quick, we’re in a hurry, go go!”

He almost felt bad at their renewed vitality. He had to let them down as soon as they were out on the open sea again. He moved towards his quarters to clear his head a bit, quickly noticing that two figure had fallen into step with him.  
“Shouldn’t you be helping with getting the ship ready?”  
“Shouldn’t you be telling us where we’re actually going?” Shachi was the first to speak up.  
“Or why we are in such a hurry?” Penguin was tagging along as well.  
“We are heading to Sabaody.”  
“Eh? For real now?” The two were baffled by his answer.  
“I wouldn’t lie to you, dumbasses. Quite rude of you to assume so, Lieutenant Commanders”, he put special emphasis on their ranks.  
“Gah, sorry boss, er Captain. Just seemed weird is all.”  
Shachi chimed in again, “you’re not giving us all the info though. We’re not getting a move on so soon just to go to an amusement park, right?”  
Law let out a sigh, before he could speak up though a third voice came from behind them.  
“We’re not. We have important matters to attend to.”  
“Oooh Bepo’s allowed to know what’s up but we’re not? Rude! Captain doesn’t love us anymore.”  
“What a heartless Captain indeed.”  
Law stopped in his tracks and turned towards his little tail of people.  
“Oh shut up you little shits.”  
“Sorry boss.”  
“Not you, Bepo.” He crossed his arms in front of him and shot a curious look at the polar bear. When had he noticed? How much did he know? Did he let something slip in their conversation earlier? No, not that he remembered.  
“Keep your wailing down for now. I’ll let you know what’s going on once we’re out of the harbor. I’ll be in my quarters for a bit. Behave until then.” He directed a sharp look towards the two Lieutenant Commanders and kept on walking to his destination.  
“As if we’d ever cause any trouble! Such a bratty Captain.”  
“We’re angels, sweet little angels!” They had their hands on their hips, chests puffed out.  
“I’ll be overseeing the ship’s wheel if the ‘angels’ need me.”  
“Wait, Bepo, tell us more!”  
“You know what’s going on, right? Throw us a bone!”  
Their voices dulled to a low hum as soon as Law closed the door out to the deck. Back in his bedroom he leaned against the heavy door and took a deep breath.

They’re back. Two years. He had a good chance of seeing them again, of seeing him. By the gods, what was he doing? His face turned into a sneer. He was chasing after some fleeting moments, some fantasies that got out of hand. He had inconvenienced his crew and was going to piss them off even more when he had to tell them that they probably weren’t even allowed to leave the ship at the Archipelago. If and only if they made it in time before the whole spectacle went down in the first place. He slid his hands down the front of his face, another sigh leaving his lungs.  
What was he doing? What was he even going to do once they arrived? What if he was spotted and declined access to go anywhere near the Strawhats? What if it wasn’t even the real Strawhats at all? The cadet had said the lookout was ‘quite sure’ it’s them but so had the other five Marines these past two years. Not that he was counting.  
This was such a mess. He had made an irrational and rushed decision and now he had to live with it. But what if it was them? What if he was there?  
Would he even remember him? He hadn’t even thought about that. Maybe this infatuation had been one sided from the beginning? Maybe he… He took another deep breath.  
“Get it together, fucking hell.” He just had to calm down and…maybe face all those things a little later. Yes, he’d do that. First he had to get out on deck again and let his crew down, the second time today.  
What a horrible Captain he was indeed.

* * *

“There’s rumors of the Strawhat pirates being seen at Sabaody, they seem to be gathering there after lying low for two years.” There was no point in lying to his crew.  
“And what exactly does that have to do with us?” One of the crew chimed in.  
“I’ve been assigned to examine their behavior and plan of action in the past. I’ve had quite a few run-ins with them.” If he dragged them in with him, they at least deserved to hear the real reason.  
“Oh then you’re needed for your expertise?”

Moment of truth, Captain Trafalgar.

“Exactly.”

Shit.  
  
“How cool, I heard they were quite the handful back then!”  
“They were dangerous in the past, I wonder how strong they are now.”  
“I read about them in the newspaper and now we’re actually meeting them? This is going to be scary!”  
“So we’re some highly sought after backup? Haha look at us being important people!”  
  
“Well, regarding that…” The excited murmurs had died down again.  
“It is actually only me they asked after. I fear once we reach the Archipelago you won’t be allowed to leave the ship. At the outpost they spoke about an evacuation of civilians which likely means they want as little people around as possible when the show goes down, including lower ranks. I’m sorry about that.”  
He could see the outrage in their faces even before the first of them drew their breath to complain.

Great work, Captain Trafalgar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language so I hope everything was fine until now TAT If you find any mistakes, feel free to contact me and I'll get them fixed. If anything isn't making sense in terms of sentence structure, please let me know as well!


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